Lord Triesman: Each year the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) publishes a comprehensive summary of the UK's aid to civil society organisations promoting human rights, equality, and the rule of law overseas in the FCO 2006 Annual Human Rights Report (published in October 2006). Copies are available in the Library of the House. The report provides an overview of the main challenges to human rights in Afghanistan and explains the Government's activities to promote human rights throughout the country. After more than 25 years of conflict, Afghanistan's reconstruction and development remains a long-term endeavour. Challenges remain, particularly in the south. But the Afghan people are starting to see results across much of the country, particularly in regions where security has been restored. An ABC News/BBC World Service poll published last December shows that 74 per cent of Afghans consider that their living conditions are better than under the Taliban and eight in 10 Afghans support the presence of international troops in their country. While life in Afghanistan is far from easy, most Afghans are conscious of the important amount of resources allocated by the international community to the security and reconstruction of their country. Most Afghans continue to rely on international forces to re-establish the security necessary for reconstruction and development. The enduring unpopularity of the Taliban—89 per cent of Afghans view them unfavourably—and the levels of support for the current Government, are testament to the fact that the Afghan people consider that Afghanistan is heading in the right direction.
	The ABC News/BBC World Service poll is available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/07_12_06AfghanistanWhereThingsStand.pdf.
	The very comprehensive Asia Foundation Survey for 2006 might also be of interest. It is availableat www.asiafoundation.org/Locations/afghanistan_survey06.html.
	Information on the Afghanistan National Development Strategy is available at www.ands.gov.af.

Lord Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations have been made to the Government of China over the continuing implementation of the death penalty.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The following table provides the most accurate breakdown available of compensation paid to prisoners over the past three financial years. Figures for previous years are not available in the form requested, nor can the figures below be broken down between convicted and remand prisoners. Figures for claims brought by those individuals sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 are not collated centrally.
	
		
			 Compensation Paid to Prisoners 2004-07 
			 Year Amount 
			 2004-05 £2,172,490 
			 2005-06 £4,064,246 
			 2006-07* £1,873,073 
			 *Up to 31 January 2007

Lord Triesman: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to take every opportunity to remind diplomatic missions of the need to meet their obligations to comply with UK law. We wrote to the worst debtors in March and August 2006, urging them to pay. In August we also wrote to all missions that owed more than £1,000 in fines, urging them to settle their debts with Transport for London. This is standard practice in preparation for the annual Written Ministerial Statement Imade on unpaid parking and minor traffic violation fines on 28 November 2006 (Official Report,cols. WS 74-76). The next Statement will issue by the end of June 2007.
	We are placing copies of the text of the letters mentioned above in the Library of the House.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: The Government support biofuels primarily because of the carbon savings they can offer. Biofuels also offer a number of ancillary benefits, including contributing to the diversity and security of the UK's transport fuel supplies and creating opportunities for the rural economy.
	The renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) will, in its early years, reward all biofuels equally, irrespective of the carbon savings they offer. It will, however, include a requirement on transport fuel suppliers to report on the environmental impacts and lifecycle carbon performance of any biofuels for which they wish to claim certificates. Over time, the Government are proposing to move to a system where the RTFO rewards different biofuels accordingto their environmental performance. The RTFO consultation document published on 22 February, and available in the House Libraries, seeks views on this issue.
	The biofuels that will be needed to meet the RTFO's targets are expected to come from a mixture of imports and domestic production. A number of UK biofuel production plants have come on stream since the announcement of the RTFO and several more are at the planning and development stage.
	Fuel duty incentives are a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chancellor announced in Budget 2006 that, over time, the Government expect that the emphasis will move from the duty incentive towards the buy-out price as the principal support mechanism for biofuels in the future.
	Biobutanol has a number of potential advantages over bioethanol, including its ability to be used at up to a 10 per cent blend without any modification to existing vehicle technology. It also has a higher energy content than bioethanol, and has the potential to be more easily incorporated into the existing UK fuel supply infrastructure. The Government have not, however, carried out any detailed assessment of the extent to which biobutanol could reduce total emissions from road transport. Its total emissions benefits would, as with all biofuels, depend on the nature of the feedstock from which it was produced, as well as the energy used to cultivate, process, refine and transport it.

Baroness Andrews: The 2006 amendment to Part L introduced new provisions that require microgeneration and other low or zero carbon systems to be considered at the design stage. At the same time this department published a new guide for designers. This is non-prescriptive and complementary to the achievementof local government microgeneration targets. The Government have announced that the building regulations energy performance standards are to be improved over time to encourage zero carbon designs for new buildings. The links with all microgeneration initiatives are therefore set to continue.

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the remarks by Baroness Royallof Blaisdon on 1 March (Official Report,cols. 1747-49), by what legal instrument those wishing to fly the European Union flag after6 April will no longer need prior permission from the local authority to do so; whether such an instrument has been sanctioned by Parliament; and, if so, how it has been sanctioned.

Baroness Andrews: The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007 NO.783) were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2007. They are due to come into force on6 April 2007. The relevant provision is in Schedule 1, Class H to the regulations.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Total initial decisions made on asylum applications are published every quarter and relate to decisions in that quarter but may relate to applications made in previous periods. Detained fast-track decisions are published every quarter and relate only to applications made in that quarter.
	Comparable data are not available for initial decisions made outside the detained fast-track process. It is not possible to give an answer based on two non-comparable sets of data.
	The two separate sets data, on total initial decisions and detained fast-track cases, are published quarterly and annually. Copies of these publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate web site at http://ww.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Quality assurance measures are in place in all initial decision-making areas for in-country applications made in the UK to IND, and visa applications made abroad at entry clearance posts. The measures in place include intensive staff training, regular updating of guidance and instructions for caseworkers, regular audits and sampling of cases as well as the sharing of best practices across departments.
	UKvisas and IND are also taking forward a number of measures which are in accordance with the recommendations made by the Home Affairs Select Committee in the summer of last year.
	Fees charged for applications are non-refundable as they reflect the cost involved in the consideration of the application and are not affected by the outcome.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many families have been supported inthe Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004 pilot areas following a human rights assessment.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many children have been taken into careas a result of Section 9 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004.

Lord Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their current assessment of Iraq's ability to deploy weapons of mass destruction before March 2003.

Lord Triesman: As my noble friend knows, the Government's policies on Iraq have been scrutinised at great length by four separate inquiries, along with a great deal of discussion in both Houses of Parliament.
	The Government have acknowledged that Iraqdid not possess stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in March 2003 and therefore could not deploy them.

Lord Triesman: We are currently considering proposals, which, if implemented, would help address the harmful effects of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in Kosovo.
	The UK is one of the most active participants in international efforts to combat the global proliferation of SALW. We have allocated £13.25 million to a UK SALW strategy over the period 2004-07. We are also one of the largest donors supporting the UN effort to combat the proliferation of SALW assisting UN agencies, regional organisations, governments and non-governmental organisations.

Baroness Andrews: The Indices of Deprivation 2004 identify six different ways of describing deprivation at a district level. On all six measures Manchester ranks between second and fourth most deprived local authority in England (see table below). There are a total of 354 local authorities in England with the most deprived authority being ranked one and the least deprived ranked 354.
	
		
			 District level measures of deprivation Manchester Rank 
			 Rank of Average Score—averages scores from across the whole district taking into account both deprived and non-deprived scores 2 
			 Rank of Average Rank—averages ranks from across the whole district taking into account both deprived and non-deprived ranks 3 
			 Rank of Extent—aims to portray how widespread high levels of deprivation are within a district 4 
			 Rank of Local Concentration—identifies whether the district suffers from concentrated "hot spots" of deprivation 3 
			 Rank of Income—identifies the number of people within a district suffering income deprivation (ie reliant on means tested benefits) 3 
			 Rank of Employment—identifies the number of people within a district suffering employment deprivation (ie involuntary exclusion from work) 3

Lord Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What technical assistance they will offer to the Government of Namibia to ensure that land reform is achieved peacefully.

Baroness Amos: UK policy on middle income countries prioritises10 per cent of our bilateral aid to large middle income countries with a high proportion of poor people; highly indebted middle income countries; and middle income countries that are vulnerable to falling back to low income status. Namibia currently falls into none of these so DfID no longer operates a bilateral programme in Namibia.
	DfID is providing short-term funding of £300,000 through the UNDP to assist the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) to establish a regional land reform technical support facility. This facility has recently started to operate. Its main focus is to provide technical support to member states that are implementing land and agrarian reforms. Namibia as a SADC member will be eligible for support from this facility.
	The EC in Namibia has also allocated €34 million for rural development, including land reform, in Namibia under the 9th European Development Fund (EDF9) which covers the period 2003-07. The UK share of this is 12.7 per cent. This support is likely to be continued under the EDF 10 which is expected to be finalised in 2007.

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What matters were discussed at the meeting between the British Consulate-General and the Nepalese Consulate-General on 12 March in Hong Kong; whether they will ask the British Vice-Consul to prepare an informal record of the discussions; and whether they will place a copy of such record in the Library of the House.

Lord Triesman: The meeting was to ascertain whether the Nepalese Consulate-General is able to issue a letter confirming that those who claim to have British Overseas citizen status are not eligible to hold Nepalese citizenship or to confirm that a Nepalese citizenship card was issued in error. A record of the meeting will be placed in the Library of the House.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I attach a list of the 39 offices acquired to date. The estimated cost of providing and running interview offices for the first year of operation is £58.32 million, as published on 21 April 2006 in the Identity and Passport Service Corporate and Business Plan.
	
		
			 Interview Offices Delivered to IPS 
			  Office Address 
			 1 Belfast 1st floor, Norwood House, 96-102 Great Victoria Street, Belfast BT2 7BE 
			 2 Glasgow Part ground floor, Blythswood House, 200 West Regent Street, Glasgow G2 4DQ 
			 3 Plymouth Part 3rd floor, Mayflower House, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 1LD 
			 4 Newcastle Part 1st floor, No. 2 Cathedral Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1EE 
			 5 Leicester 3rd floor, Wellington House, Wellington Street, Leicester LE1 6HL 
			 6 Newport 15th floor, Chartist Tower, Upper Dock Street, Newport NP20 1DW 
			 7 Peterborough 1st floor west, Midgate House, Westgate City Road, Peterborough PE1 1TN 
			 8 Leeds Part ground floor, 33 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2RY 
			 9 Chelmsford First floor, Rosebury House, 41 Springfield Road, Chelmsford CM2 6JJ 
			 10 Liverpool 2nd floor, Nations House, Edmund Street, Liverpool L3 9NY 
			 11 Crawley 2nd floor, Belgrave House, Crawley RH10 1HU 
			 12 Edinburgh 1st floor, Apex three, 95 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5HD 
			 13 Swansea Axis Court, Riverside Business Park, Swansea, SA7 OAJ 
			 14 Birmingham 6th floor, Kensington House, Suffolk Street, Queensway, Birmingham B1 1LN 
			 15 Manchester Westminster House, Portland Street, Manchester M60 1HY 
			 16 Sheffield Ground floor, Milton House Charter Row, Sheffield S1 3FZ 
			 17 Wrexham First floor, Kingsway House, Ellice Way, Wrexham LL13 7YT 
			 18 Luton Part 4th floor, A W House, Stuart Street, Luton, LU1 2SW 
			 19 Stoke-on-Trent Riverside II Office Park, Campbell Road, ST4 4RJ 
			 20 Bristol 5th floor, Monarch House, Queen Charlotte Street, BS1 4EX 
			 21 Middlesbrough Training and Enterprise House, 2 Queens Square, Middlesbrough TS2 1AA 
			 22 Reading Kings Reach, 38-50 Kings Road, Reading, RG1 3AA 
			 23 Portsmouth 8th floor, Enterprise House, Isambard Brunel Road, Portsmouth, PO1 2RX 
			 24 Ipswich Crown House, Crown Street, Ipswich, IP1 3HS 
			 25 Lincoln Ground floor, Saracen House, Crusader Road, City Office Park, Tritton Road, Lincoln, LN6 7AS 
			 26 Scarborough Ground floor, Unit four, Plaxton Park, Cayton Low Road, Scarborough, Y011 3BQ 
			 27 Blackburn St John's Court, Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, BB1 6AR 
			 28 London 9th &10th floors, Hannibal House, Elephant & Castle, Southwark, London, SE1 6TE 
			 29 Yeovil Brunel House, Mead Avenue, Houdstone Business Park, Yeovil, BA22 8RT 
			 30 Stirling Scotia House, The Castle Business Park, Stirling, FK9 4TZ 
			 31 Oban Suite 2, 2 Glengallon Road, Glenshellach Business Park, Oban, PH34 4HH 
			 32 Hull Second floor, Aldgate House, 1-4 Market Place, Kingston upon Hull, HU1 1RA 
			 33 Norwich Part ground floor, St. Crispens House, Duke St, Norwich, NR3 1PD 
			 34 Cheltenham Montpellier House, Montpellier Terrace, Cheltenham GL50 1WJ 
			 35 Carlisle Ground floor, Regents Court, Kingmoor, Carlisle, CA6 4SJ 
			 36 Inverness Lyle House, Fairways Business Park, Inverness, IV2 6AA 
			 37 Newport I.O.W Part ground floor, Building B, The Apex, St Cross Business Park, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 5WN 
			 38 Dover 3rd floor, Maybrook House, 25 New Street, Dover, CT 17 9AJ 
			 39 Aberdeen Part ground floor, Regent Centre, Regent Road, Aberdeen, AB11 5NS

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the UK Borders Bill, in its current form, is fully compatible with the European Convention Against Trafficking.

Baroness Amos: The UN has carried out a number of household surveys in Somalia (including Somaliland) and collated data on its progress against the MDGs (table below).
	Assessment of the Transitional Federal Government and Somaliland and Puntland authorities' capacity to measure their attainment of the MDGs has been difficult as data collection in Somalia has been hampered since 1990 as a result of the civil war, insecurity and lack of governmental institutions. The TFG, Somaliland and Puntland authorities and donors are committed to addressing this and will be discussing plans for a national census and for statistical capacity to be strengthened at an envisaged donor conference later this year.
	
		
			 MDG Somaliland Results 
			 1 Eradicate poverty and hunger  
			  Population living below $1 a day (whole of Somalia) 43% 
			  Prevalence child malnutrition (% underweight under 5) 21% 
			 2 Achieve universal primary education  
			  Net primary enrolment ratio 11.4% 
			 3 Promote gender equality  
			  Ratio girls to boys in primary and secondary education 44% 
			  Proportion of seats in Parliament held by women 0/82 
			 4 Reduce child mortality  
			  Under five mortality rate (per 1,000) 188 
			  Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) 113 
			 5 Improve maternal health  
			  Maternal mortality rate (per 100,000 live births) 1,600 
			  Births attended by skilled health staff 27% 
			 _ Combat HIV AIDS malaria and other diseases  
			  HIV prevalence among 15-24 year old pregnant women 1.4% 
			  Incidence of TB (per 100,000 per year) 460 
			 7 Ensure environmental sustainability  
			  Access to an improved water source (% of population) 31.3% 
			  Access to improved sanitation 47.4% 
			 8 Develop a global partnership for development  
			  Access to affordable, essential drugs (whole of Somalia) 0.49% 
			 UNDP MDG Report Somalia, UNICEF Multiple Cluster Indicator Surveys, UNDP Human Development Reports, household surveys from 1999-2004.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The independent monitoring board at YOI Huntercombe has raised concernsto the Home Office and Youth Justice Board on64 occasions since September 2004.